By: Mrs. Fry
There’s a passage in Ephesians about putting on the armor of God. Like any battle, ours requires equipment. One verse specifically says “Put on the breastplate of righteousness.” Now I’ve read over that verse a bunch of times, but this last time at camp, I wondered...what exactly is a breastplate of righteousness, and how do you put it on? Well, if you picture an old suit of armor, you can guess which part is the breastplate. It’s the big piece that covers your chest and vital organs. I would say it’s a pretty key part of your defense.
And what is righteousness? One way I’ve heard it described is “rightness with God.” When my daughter is mean to her sister, I say “Before you move on, you have to make things right.” And we walk through the steps of apologizing and asking for forgiveness. Rightness with God is similar. If you’ve believe Jesus died for your sins and you’ve asked him to forgive them, you already have the breastplate of righteousness. But in order for it to be effective, you have to put it on before battle. If the enemy is attacking you, and it feels like you’re losing, check your equipment. Is your breastplate of righteousness firmly attached, or have you left your heart open to attack by leaving sin unresolved between you and God or you and someone else? Do you need to go and make things right?
Psalm 32 says, “For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away ... my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer,” but then, “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.”
Fighting and holding onto sin at the same time is exhausting and ineffective, and you’ll feel like your bones are wasting away. Forgiveness will allow you to let go of that extra weight and fight the good fight like God intended.
Say the prayer, make the call, get that breastplate back in place so you can fight on.